A.J. was introduced to tennis at a young age going to the local park and hitting around with his mother. He gained more interest as a freshmen in high school when he realized that his high school's tennis team was a recognized as a no-cut team through USTA. The longer he was on the team, the more he wanted to improve. Through practice and hard work, A.J. earned more and more playing time throughout his high school years.

A.J. moved to Bowling Green, KY in the summer of 2018. After taking the first few months becoming familiar with the city and his position at Western Kentucky University, A.J. wanted to become involved in the community, and he thought tennis would be a great way to do so. After reaching out via the USTA League Form, A.J. began to meet people within the community and learned how to be involved. After some time, A.J.'s desire to be more involved grew, and in the Fall of 2019, A.J. had the opportunity to be a part of the SOKY Board of Directors.

In his role with SOKY, A.J. hopes to help tennis continue to grow in Bowling Green and surrounding areas. He hopes to promote an open, inclusive community for anyone, juniors or adults, that want to be involved in this amazing sport.

I was introduced to tennis at work of all places. My work team was Dr. Carlos Rotellar, Dr. Scott Sims, and Dr. Rosalie Padilla and they all played tennis. One afternoon they took me to Keriakas to "hit balls." I fell in love with the sport and have played since then.

I have volunteered to help at SOKY tennis activities in the past but didn't get really involved until I started working to get indoor tennis facilities in Bowling Green. I was asked to be on the board of directors and I accepted.

I want tennis to grow in Warren and surrounding counties. I want the opportunity to play to be offered to everyone. I think about the youth and the exposure they have now that wasn't around when I was growing up. Tennis is a lifetime sport and if you think you are too old to try something new-I challenge you to give it a try.

I was born in Glen Cove, Long Island, NY.

My parents were both university people so we moved a lot. I went to 8 different schools in different states and England before college. I graduated high school from Princeton Day School in 1973 (Princeton, NJ ) and graduated 3 years later from Kansas University with a BA in English and a BS in Theatre Design . I worked with Horse Cave Theatre {the KY Repertory Theatre before it closed) the first and 2 additional seasons as their Property Master. I am very much a renaissance/eclectic and somewhat eccentric person.

Switching channels I started Gillock Tax Service in 1988 and now have a very active business with clients from all over the country.

I took my first tennis lessons at Belle Meade Country Club in Nashville when I was 7. I still have that same wooden racquet! In 2003 I was asked to be the treasurer of the newly forming SOKY Tennis Assoc. I have held that position ever since with a few helpers along the way. J.T. and I have 2 sons, Chip (Patience) 33 and Charlie (Amanda) 29, who have recently given us identical twin granddaughters . We live on a small farm in Franklin and spend a lot of time working on our 100+ yr old home.. And are proud owners of the bright yellow circa 1847 historical house going up the hill on East Main in BG.

Chad began playing tennis at the age of nine after his sister picked up the game. After playing competitively as a junior and in high school, he decided against playing at some small Indiana colleges and came to WKU instead.

He wouldn’t pick up a racquet again for another eight years but has been heavily involved in Bowling Green’s tennis community ever since. As a two-time President of SOKY Tennis, he has been involved in numerous endeavors, including adult beginner clinics, social events and junior tennis leagues. He has also organized and run more than 30 tournaments over the last 15 years.

Additionally, Chad has served as the boys and tennis coach at South Warren High School since the program’s inception in 2011. He is a PTA-certified instructor for 11-17 year olds. He is passionate about junior development and the overall growth of tennis in the community.

I am honored to be serving in the role of SOKY Tennis President. I am surrounded by an amazing group of volunteers who are passionate and enthused to see the growth of the SOKY Tennis community!

As a youth, I spent the majority of my time on the baseball field and continued playing at the high school and collegiate levels. I gave tennis a try but my heart was still dedicated to the game of hardball. Tennis was not even on my radar until a friend randomly asked me to hit a few balls with him (around the age of 30). The bug bit me and I traded my baseball bat for a tennis racquet. I have been playing competitive tennis now for the last 12 years and I can tell that it will be the game that I hope to play for the remainder of my active life.

Tennis is a game that gives back to its community and it is a game for everyone. It is my hope that anyone who wants to learn, teach, and contribute to the game of tennis can find a home within the SOKY Tennis community.

Cameron Levis works for the Bowling Green Parks and Recreation in our Special Populations Division helping to ensure that individuals with physical and/or intellectual disabilities are able to enjoy the benefits of recreation and sport.

Cameron became involved in the local tennis community after Parks and Recreation created an adaptive sports program in 2017. A natural fit for adaptive sports, wheelchair tennis was one of the original sports offered in the community. In his role, he is focused on helping to grow more opportunities in the community while educating and raising awareness of the positive impacts of adaptive tennis.

“One of the ideas I share most often when talking about the field of parks and recreation is the impactful ways in which it gives everyone “a seat at the table”. Tennis can have this same impact in our community if we work to grow the game and make it accessible to all people.”

Minda started tennis at a young age of 6 in South Carolina. Her entire family played so she was always at the courts with her parents and had always be around the sport. She really fell in love with the game when she was in high school. She played on her high school team and eventually qualified to play on the college level under a scholarship. After college, Minda has played USTA league tennis off and on. She was very fortunate where I grew up because Tennis was always available and easily accessible when she was young. She has always wanted to share that same love of the game with others, so she joined SOKY tennis after she moved here. She’s been on the board for about 10 years, holding different roles. “This tennis community is such a wonderful group of people and it is a great social time. SOKY allows me to share what I have learned and/or give support in helping others learn the game.”

Cassidy Counter moved to BG about three years ago to work at WKU and connected to the tennis community through her boyfriend A.J. She’s been hooked ever since! She’s loved all the wonderful women that she’s been able to meet and compete with. It has been such a supportive community and she hopes to get new women involved this year! Cassidy is excited to take on the LLC role and introduce more people to an awesome community and sport.

Hank Campbell has been an adult competitive tennis player for a little over two years now. Seeing the rise of pickleball, Hank felt it was his sole duty to make tennis cool again and so his wife conned him into playing mixed doubles with her. At the time, he was quoted as saying, “don’t expect me to get too involved in this tennis thing as I just have too much on my plate.” After captaining his 3.0 team at the KY state tournament, this fool has now become hooked.

Hank’s background is in the endurance sports worlds of running, triathlon, cycling and more running. He most recently served as president of the Bowling Green Running Club and has a background in coaching, exercise science and sports retail. He now sells cars at Hunt Ford in Franklin, KY which should tell you how his life has worked out. He’s a silly man and cares about people.

Carrie Pratt picked up tennis right before the pandemic. Hoping to grow the community and find people to play, she cast a wide net and found a good group of players to connect with.

Carrie is interested in growing the community further and is always looking for ways to engage the community in order to improve the level of play, especially for the women’s tennis community.

Carrie works at WKU as a news advisor and owns her own visual communication company.